Explore every episode of the podcast The Blueprint: Powered by K Marketing Co

Thinking of setting goals for your business in the new year? This week on The Blueprint we’re diving into all things goal setting with special guest Emily Hess! Whether you’re a new business owner setting goals for the first time or a seasoned entrepreneur who feels like their tank is too empty for new goals, this episode is for you!

Learn more about Emily and Markit’s services at www.makeyourmarkit.com

Learn more about K Marketing Co at www.kmarketingco.com

0:00 Welcome to The Blueprint Season 2

0:38 Meet Emily Hess

1:41 Markit’s Partnership with K Marketing Co.

2:18 Setting Goals in the New Year as a New Business Owner

4:43 How to Set Goals When You Feel Burnt Out

6:18 What are S.M.A.R.T Goals?

7:17 How to Make Your Goals Specific and Achievable

8:30 Make Your Goals Purposeful

9:30 Using S.M.A.R.T Goals to Build Your Business

12:26 How to Track Progress Towards Your Goals

14:30 Common Goal Setting Mistakes

16:07 Perfection is the Killer of Progress

17:32 S.M.A.R.T. Goals Should be Income Producing Activities

19:20 Don’t Set Goals That Are Too Broad

21:43 Look at the Costs of Your Goals

24:35 Balancing Ambition with Realistic Expectations

25:50 Learning From Your Mistakes

30:04 Flexibility is Part of the Process

32:24 Looking Ahead to The Blueprint in 2026

Megan sits down with local attorney and business owner Eric Stark to discuss putting the right people in the right seats in order to create a stronger team. From identifying strengths to encouraging a positive workplace culture, this episode is full of insight on building the best team for your business.

The Blueprint: Powered by K Marketing Co will return with an all-new season in January 2026!

Learn more about Stark Law Group at www.starklawllc.com

Learn more about K Marketing Co. at www.kmarketingco.com

0:00 Introduction

1:36 Getting the Right People in the Right Roles

5:12 Reassigning Employee Roles

8:45 Small Business Employees Need to be Flexible

11:56 Employees Want Purpose

12:45 Determining if Someone is the Right Fit

14:30 Curating a Strong Workplace Culture

16:36 Setting Workplace Expectations

19:20 Understanding Different Work-Life Balances

23:40 What Does a Healthy Workplace Culture Look Like?

30:25 Differences Between Owner and Employee Experiences

33:01 Identifying the Right Person

35:10 Building a Strong Foundation Together

42:35 Conclusion

In this continuation of last week’s episode, Megan and Chuck dive into identifying where you need balance in your life, finding effective methods to maintain balance without sacrificing productivity, and surrounding yourself with the right people to support you when you need it. If you’ve been feeling off-balance lately, this conversation will remind you that you’re not alone, and there are ways to rebalance the scales.

To learn more about Chuck Honabach, visit his website: chuckhonabachteam.com

0:00 Episode 13 Recap

0:51 Work-Life Balance for Different Personality Types

8:12 Lead with Your Strengths & Staff Your Weaknesses

10:17 Work Life Balance in the Digital Age

11:22 Balance is More Than Working Hours

13:05 Incremental Changes Can Make a Big Difference

16:05 Getting Your Business in Order

18:24 Find Incentives For Yourself

21:53 Solve Problems as They Arise

23:24 Maintaining Balance in Your Absence

25:55 The Difference Between the Owner and Employee Experience

30:35 Conclusion

If the responsibilities of being a business owner sometimes feel overwhelming, you’re not alone. It can be incredibly difficult to find the right balance between running your business and living your personal life. On this week’s episode of The Blueprint: Powered by K Marketing Co Megan is sitting down with Chuck Honabach to share some real world experiences they’ve had that have shaped their work-life balance. Hear insights about the hiring process, how to hold yourself and your staff accountable, and finding joy in the work you do.

This was such a great conversation, that we’ve split it into two parts, so stay tuned for part 2 next week!

To learn more about Chuck Honabach, visit his website: chuckhonabachteam.com

0:00 Introduction

1:00 The Experience of Owning Multiple Businesses

6:41 Finding The Right Structure For Your Business

8:17 Empowering Your Team to Succeed

12:07 What Motivated You to Start a Business?

14:07 Pushing Through Hardships as a Business Owner

16:32 Your Business is Your Child

18:32 Don’t Be Paralyzed by the Thought of Failure

21:42 Owners Have to Wear Every Hat (at least sometimes)

22:52 Audit Your Procedures

24:08 Holding Yourself and Your Staff Accountable

In this week’s episode, Design & Marketing Specialists Casey and Emily sit down to discuss one of the most important concepts in marketing: “Know, Like, and Trust”. Learn more about how you can build a better connection with your audience through authentic visuals and brand personality. If you’re looking to bring some life into your brand’s content, this is a quick crash course in how to show authenticity in your digital presence.

To learn more about photography with K Marketing Co, visit kmarketingco.com/photography-services

0:00 Introduction

1:14 What is Know, Like, and Trust?

2:59 Why is Authenticity so Important in Marketing?

3:53 The Difference Between Real Photos and Stock Photos

5:21 Cost-Effective Recommendations for Real Imagery

6:46 Maintaining Boundaries with Your Audience

8:50 Should You Use AI Images for Your Brand?

10:30 Tips for Capturing Authenticity

11:30 Building a Connection with Your Audience

12:21 Main Takeaways on Know Like and Trust

In this week’s episode, Ryan and Alicia are back to talk about how you can design your website to help you generate leads. From pop-up forms to lead magnets, they have plenty of ideas to help you get in contact with potential customers, and the technical expertise to help you design your website in a way that inspirits action.

0:00 Introduction

0:30 What Does Lead Generation Mean?

1:15 Designing With Lead Generation in Mind

3:16 Design Tips for Lead Generation

4:16 Calls to Action

5:57 The First Step in Lead Generation is Getting Their Attention

7:08 Lead Magnets

8:40 Designing Good Landing Pages

9:50 The Importance of Following Up with Leads

11:10 Tracking Landing Page Performance

12:28 Improving Landing Page Performance

14:00 Conclusion

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this week Megan is sitting down with Teresa Richardson, Executive Director of Help the Fight, a local non-profit dedicated to assisting families going through breast cancer treatment. If you’re looking to make an impact in your community, Teresa offers a lot of great insight into alternative ways that you can support non-profits besides just writing a check. Learn more about how to pick the right cause for your business, what non-profits actually need, and how your business can make a difference.

To learn more about how you can support Help the Fight, visit their website at www.helpthefight.org

0:00 Introduction

0:39 What is Help the Fight?

4:03 Why are Partnerships Between Businesses and Non-Profits so Important?

6:26 The Partnership Between Help the Fight and K Marketing Co

10:50 Creative Options to Support Non-Profits

15:44 Common Misconceptions About Non-Profit Partnerships

17:45 Lasting Community Impacts of Non-Profit Partnerships

20:53 Advice for Forming Non-Profit Partnerships

21:30 How to Support Help the Fight

22:40 Getting Breast Cancer Support from Help the Fight

25:04 Conclusion

This week our guest host Ryan Morad sits down with K Marketing Co’s Creative Director & Wix Studio Design Expert Alicia Irwin to break down the basic pros and cons of some of the most popular website platforms. Join us for a discussion about the necessary knowledge and technical skills needed to create a website on Wix and Wordpress.

If you have questions about selecting the right platform for your new website, you can reach out to us at kmarketingco.com/contact

To browse our customizable Wix Studio templates, visit kmarketingco.com/category/wix-website-templates

00:00 Introduction

2:34 Which Platform is Best for Big Business Scalability?

3:50 Wordpress Overview

7:45 Wix Overview

9:41 Technical Support Differences for Wix and Wordpress

11:20 Tips for Customizing Templated Sites

13:04 Pros of Using Wix

14:51 Drawbacks of Using Wix

19:12 Conclusion

Discover what sets successful business owners apart in this episode of The Blueprint: Powered by K Marketing Co. Megan chats with Sean Rigney from Fulton Bank, who works with entrepreneurs daily, sharing insights on professionalism, networking, and communication skills that help businesses thrive.

This episode is perfect for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs looking to level up their business presence.

To learn more about K Marketing Co, visit our website www.kmarketingco.com

Are you intimidated by the technical jargon of search engine optimization? On this week’s episode of The Blueprint, our SEO Specialist Ryan joined us again to go over some of the basic SEO terms you’ll encounter when getting started. From what a keyword is to what it means to be on Google, we’re covering every term you need to get started on your website’s SEO.

To learn more about SEO services with K Marketing Co, visit our website at kmarketingco.com/seo-services

0:00 Introduction

2:09 What is SEO?

2:37 What is a SERP?

2:59 What is Organic Traffic?

6:21 What are Keywords?

10:30 What is Keyword Research?

11:35 What is On-Page SEO?

13:04 What Does it Mean to be on Google?

14:27 What is Off-Page SEO?

15:29 What is Technical SEO?

16:50 What are Indexing, Crawling, and Ranking?

18:21 What is Search Intent?

19:19 What are Long-Tail Keywords?

21:10 What is Keyword Stuffing and Why is it Bad?

23:13 Meta Titles, Meta Tags, Header Tags, and Alt Text

26:05 What is Internal Linking?

26:36 What is Domain Authority?

28:19 What is a CTR (Click-Through Rate)

28:46 What is a Bounce Rate?

29:19 What is an Engagement Rate?

29:32 What is a Conversion Rate?

30:11 What is Google Search Console and What Does it Do?

32:24 What is Google Analytics?

32:58 Conclusion

How do you create an office environment that makes your employees excited to come into work?

This week on The Blueprint, Marketing Specialist and guest host Casey sat down with Favyan Asia, CEO of Hempfield Technology to talk about building a positive work atmosphere. From selecting the right people to using humor to ease tension, they talk about what pieces you need to create a healthy work environment.

Learn more about managed IT services with Hempfield Technology at hempfieldtech.com

0:00 Introduction to Favyan and Hempfield Technology

2:04 Cultivating Office Culture as a Leader

4:10 Creating Space for Your Team’s Personality

5:25 Multi-Generational Differences in the Office

7:30 Bringing Humor into Your Office

10:26 When the Office Becomes Too Rigid

12:20 Are People More Productive in Creative Environments?

15:05 Setting Boundaries to Prevent Burnout

16:58 Positive Culture Contributes to Success

In this episode of The Blueprint: Powered by K Marketing Co, our video production specialist Emma joined us on the other side of the camera to talk about the basics of video production. She'll take you through the equipment you actually need to start creating video, what happens in each phase of the production process, and advice for businesses looking to get started on making their own video content.

You can learn more about Video Production with K Marketing Co by visiting our website at www.kmarketingco.com/video-production

0:00 Meet Our Video Production Specialist

3:12 Why is Video Production so Popular These Days?

4:40 What Makes Video More Powerful Than a Static Image?

5:30 What Equipment do You Need to Get Started in Video Production?

9:15 What Happens in the Pre-Production Phase?

14:00 What Happens During the Production Phase?

16:45 What Happens During the Post-Production Phase?

21:50 What Advice Would You Give to Businesses Getting Started in Video Production?

“How do I network?” “Where can I find good networking events?” “Do I need to use LinkedIn for networking?” “What even IS networking?” If you’ve been asking yourself any of these questions, we promise you’re not alone.

That’s why our guest this week is Liz Ackerman, Executive Director of the Northern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce, and she’s here to get into the basics of what networking is and how you can network well. Networking can feel really intimidating when you’re just starting out, and sometimes it can feel like you’re not getting anywhere and you need to change your approach. Join Megan and Liz as they get into how you can network beyond handing out business cards.

0:00 Meet Liz Ackerman

3:30 Growth of the Norther Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce Through Networking

6:11 The Key to Positive Networking Experiences

9:56 Why You Shouldn’t “Work the Room”

15:07 How Has Social Media Changed Networking?

20:46 What to Do When You Feel Intimidated

23:50 What to Do When You Feel Comfortable

24:35 How to Keep Moving at Events

26:46 New Northern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce Office

29:00 Networking in Action

35:50 Finding Networking Opportunities That Work for You

40:36 Should I Network with My Competitors?

42:30 Easy Networking Opportunities (No Membership Required)

43:42 Share the Load with Your Employees

45:25 Conclusion

Social media is one of the biggest tools in your digital marketing toolbox these days. While it can be very valuable, it can also drain you. In this week’s episode, Megan is joined by Casey, one of our marketing specialists to talk about the foundations of a good social media presence.

If you’re wondering what platforms to use, what content to post, and how to avoid feeling that social media burnout, this is the episode for you!

1:10 Do you really need to be on every platform?

3:55 The importance of choosing the right platform for your business

5:30 Use social media to build your reputation

8:20 Ideal platforms for different types of businesses

12:59 The downsides of having too many social media accounts

17:19 You’re not behind if you’re not on every trend

18:53 Concluding thoughts

When people think of marketing, a lot of the time they think about colorful graphics, eye-catching photos, or words written on a page. But this week, Megan is joined by our SEO & Digital Ads Specialist Ryan to talk about some of the less visual (but very important) aspects of marketing. So if you’ve been looking to build a foundational understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) or creating your first digital ads campaign, this episode is for you!

0:00-2:34 Why are non-shiny things important to your marketing?

2:35-3:00 What is SEO?

3:01-7:21 Why is technical SEO important?

7:22-9:00 How can website structure impact your Google rankings?

9:01-11:51 Why is your site speed so important?

11:52-15:22 Why might images be hurting your SEO, and how can you fix it?

15:23-18:41 Best practices for starting a digital advertising campaign

18:42-21:15 Why is it important to properly set up conversion tracking?

21:16-24:22 Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals for your digital ad campaign

24:23-27:15 Audience targeting vs. audience exclusion

27:16 -28:13 Are your analytics telling you the truth?

28:14- 28:55 What is a UTM?

28:56-31:28 Don’t try to eat an elephant all at once

Learn a little more about Megan's background in small business ownership, from growing up in a family business to starting her own marketing agency. Then, get a glimpse into what you can expect from this podcast in upcoming episodes.

0:00-1:24 Welcome to The Blueprint: Powered by K Marketing Co

1:25-3:59 Megan's experience as the child of entrepreneurs

4:00-6:49 Megan's entrepreneurship journey

6:50-9:56 What is The Blueprint?

9:57-11:45 Why is it called The Blueprint?

Megan Kalbach, Founder & CEO of K Marketing Co is ready to guide you through the world of marketing, business growth, and leadership. Whether you're a solo entrepreneur or leading a team, this podcast gives you the clarity and confidence to stop spinning your wheels and start making purposeful progress.

Our first official episode launches on August 7th at 9am, with new episodes dropping every Thursday morning at 9am. Come build something with us!